After four years (or maybe more) of wishing all the early mornings and class assignments would go away, your last semester of college is over and you’re heading into the “real world” at full speed. Although college may have been filled with all those little annoyances, like paying outrageous tuition fees and keeping up a…

The Facebook notification came a few days after the election results, at the height of my incredulousness: Women’s March on Washington. There was no mission statement, no program outline, just the knowledge that women from across the country would come together to march on Washington the day after Trump’s inauguration––a reality I envisioned myself grappling…

We didn’t have the best send off to 2016 with Mariah’s Lip-synching debacle and 2017 seemed to be going strong for a solid six days until the Fort Lauderdale shooting, but there is still hope for the new year. A lot of the potential negatives of 2017 can be curbed with the way we think and…

The island table became a jigsaw puzzle, with the mashed potatoes fitting into the stuffing fitting into the turkey. Every inch of granite was covered by a dish, with more spilling over into the ovens. There were only eight of us and nowhere near the amount of people needed to finish all that food. We…

They dressed like the mannequins in Saks Fifth Avenue and had the contoured faces of girls who stare in mirrors too long. They were pretty, and they knew they were pretty. Distracted eyes, mine included, took breaks from tennis screens and followed them as they made their way to the square’s fountain. The three of…

Honest, intelligent, and witty, HBO’s Insecure, created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, brings a much needed fresh voice to premium television, and has just been renewed for 10 episodes. Adapted from Rae’s 2011 web series “Awkward Black Girl,” which she created and starred in, the show adds a nice splash of color to the otherwise mostly white…

Dressed in black, from head to toe, and rocking combat boots, fans oozed into the center of the Carrier Dome to bear witness to a new kind of British Invasion for Syracuse University’s annual Rock The Dome concert. The 1975 materialized out of a fog on stage after a teasing introduction that seemed to last fifteen…

The shrieks of some obscure indie rock band ooze from The Sound Garden’s open door as people flow in and out of Armory Square’s not-so-hidden gem. Inside customers quietly stroll through ceiling high aisles of DVDs and CDs, but nowhere is as congested as the record section, where fingers comb through vinyls surrounded by the…

I lied about love. I’ve always loved the idea. I pretended to be a cynic because I thought it would be easier, put less pressure on everything. But if I’m being honest, there were moments when I let myself believe you were it. In many ways, you made love less of an idea and more…

It definitely feels as though Texan-newcomer Leon Bridges was plucked from a smoky blues bar in 1962 and redistributed into the 21st century. In a world where catchy techno-pop beats and shallow lyrics continue to reign, there seems to be just enough room for the revival of retro soul with this new artist. The 25-year-old…

By Amari D. Pollard We may have never lived in Jamaica, but we claim the country as if it’s one of our limbs. Since we were raised by Jamaicans, it was only natural for us to connect more with that culture. And because of that growing up in America—in a completely different society—was always interesting….

By Amari D. Pollard I’ve never been one for goodbyes; to places, to people—especially people. It’s always been easier for me to just leave, to not really realize the last time I saw someone was a goodbye until some time passed without me seeing them. Maybe that way it’s better, because the more detached I…

By Amari D. Pollard The issue isn’t getting people to notice you. On the nights you go out with friends you dance with guys, they call you hot, they ask for your number, some even try to make out with you and if you’re drunk enough sometimes you let them. But those are meaningless nights:…

By Amari D. Pollard “I’ve learned people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou The silence—that’s probably the hardest part, I think: the stillness of the cellphone, the unspoken hellos, the missed comforts. You tell yourself it doesn’t…

By Amari D. Pollard When nostalgia hits I have this habit of looking through old family photos. So the other day when I found myself drowning in it, I started looking through a pile of pictures I keep on my desk and came across one where I was wearing this awful blue terry top hat…

By Amari D. Pollard Let’s just get one thing straight first: I’m not afraid of getting old; in fact, I actually relish the inevitability of it all. I think I’ll look good with short grey hair, with the subtle wrinkles that materialize when I smile. I want the experiences, the marriage, the family, the house,…

By Amari D. Pollard I think there are many situations and stages in people’s lives that force them to take a step back and ask themselves: What is it that I really want? The only problem with asking that question is that the answer is not always so easy to come by; because a lot…

By Amari D. Pollard Dating. What does it even mean to date in 2015? Are we dating if I’m “talking” to you? Are we dating if I’m “seeing” you on a regular basis? Are we dating if we’ve gone on a couple of dates? More importantly, is dating even a thing anymore? As a side…